A day after pulling out a gutsy marquee victory, No. 15 Iowa State could be without its leader on Tuesday when the Cyclones face Creighton in the second day of the Players Era men’s championship in Las Vegas.
Iowa State (5-0) rallied late for an 83-82 victory over No. 14 St. John’s on Monday, but senior guard Tamin Lipsey exited in the final minutes with a lower-body injury. Lipsey, a preseason All-Big 12 honoree, scored 16 points before limping off the court in pain.
“In regards to Tamin, we’re still evaluating it,” Iowa State coach T.J. Otzelberger said postgame. “The training staff, medical staff, told us it’s going to be day-to-day with a lower-body injury. I don’t have great detail on it. We’ll get back to the hotel, check him out and see what that means.”
Lipsey and Joshua Jefferson pace Iowa State with 18.4 points per game apiece. Leading the charge in the Cyclones’ first win against a ranked foe this season, Milan Momcilovic had 23 points on five 3-pointers and gave Iowa State the lead for good by sinking a layup with 1:55 left.
“Milan is a tremendous worker,” Otzelberger said. “He has great habits. He has confidence in his abilities because he earns it and works for it every single day. As a coach, you want to do everything you can to show belief in him and how you can have his back. His teammates did such a great job finding him (on Monday). … I’m happy for him to have that kind of performance. He should have great confidence moving forward.”
Momcilovic adds 16.8 points per contest for the Cyclones, who have won seven in a row over Creighton dating back to January 1991.
Creighton (3-2) will be searching for its first victory over a power-conference or ranked opponent while looking to avoid its first losing streak of the young season. The Bluejays fell 81-74 to Baylor on Monday, when they were outrebounded 45-28.
“I didn’t think we were as hooked up defensively as we needed to be in the first half,” Creighton coach Greg McDermott said. “We fought on the glass for the first 15 or 16 minutes of the game and then after the last TV timeout of the first half, I didn’t think we were great in that regard either. In the second, our first-shot defense was much better, we just couldn’t get a rebound.”
A bright spot for the Bluejays was the play of freshman Hudson Greer, who was expected to redshirt this season. Greer made his Creighton debut on Wednesday when he scored one point in 13 minutes against North Dakota. On Monday, Greer scored a team-high 16 points on 7-for-8 shooting from the field.
Blake Harper leads Creighton with an average of 12.2 points per game, with Josh Dix right behind at 11.8.
McDermott is looking for his first win over Iowa State (in his third official attempt) since leaving the Cyclones for the Bluejays prior to the 2010-11 season. Otzelberger was an assistant under McDermott at Iowa State from 2006-10.
“T.J. and I have played against each other the last four or five years in scrimmages,” McDermott said. “I think there is a benefit for us in having played against that pressure. … It’s not a fun game for me. T.J.’s one of my best friends. I cheer for him every single game except for (Tuesday).”
